Burning Blue
by Fox Scarlen
Summary: The hottest flames are said to burn a brilliant blue...Kyoko's gaining success as an actress and Ren's still, unsuccessfully, trying to win her heart...without her noticing a thing, of course...Please wish poor Ren luck. Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all! I'm not going to bother you with a long, giant author's note, as I have a tendency to do. Basically, this is a story of Kyoko and Ren…no der. And it's about…actually, I don't have a plot yet, except for the climax. It's really just a story about Kyoko and Ren. So here you go.

Plot Summary: A story about Kyoko and Ren. (I am such an original person.) Oh, and the summary given is very vague, mainly because I wasn't sure what to put. But it is true, and relates to the climax of the story, which probably won't be for a while.

Disclaimer: Most everything in this story belongs to Nakamura-san. However, Takumi, as well as the story of Kouen, and pretty much everything else relating to Kouen (except Kyoko, of course), are all mine.

Burning Blue: Chapter 1

Ishibashi Hikaru was having a bad day. Sure, everything went fine on the show. Yuusei, Shinichi and he, together forming Bridge Rock, had a great performance as always, pleasing the crowd and having fun with their guest star, Akiyama Takumi, a rising young actor.

In fact, this rising young actor was starring in a new weekly drama with another rising young actress. And it was this actress, who also joined Bridge Rock as a regular cast member on their show, Yappa Kimagure Rock, who was the source of young Hikaru's bad day.

The eldest Ishibashi wasn't mad at Mogami Kyoko, the young lady in question. In fact, quite the opposite. Hikaru had been harboring a crush on Kyoko, four years his junior, for quite some time now.

No, the cause of his bad day was that another man, who _also_ harbored certain feelings for Kyoko, had come to pick her up from her work today as Bo, though of course he was unaware that Kyoko was the one who generally worked in the chicken suit. After all, his conversations with Bo were based off of a certain anonymity, through which he could express his true thoughts and feelings to this stranger in a chicken suit, and never fear that the chicken man would spill his secrets.

'Chicken man' Kyoko was, of course, far too scared to reveal her job as Bo to this man, for fear he would be wrathful and angry at her.

Of course, if you had not yet figured it out, the man being described is none other than Tsuruga Ren, and his eyes of love for his pupil were so disconcertingly obvious to Hikaru that it placed a damper on his mood for the rest of the day.

You see, Hikaru had not seen Tsuruga-san for quite a while. He knew that Kyoko was working with Japan's Number One Hottest Male, but, knowing Kyoko's immunity to feelings of love, he didn't worry.

Now, realizing that Tsuruga felt the same for Kyoko pushed Hikaru into a pit of despair. How could he hope to compete with Tsuruga Ren?  
"You can't," a voice said mockingly. Glowering, Hikaru turned to face his co-star, Ishibashi Shinichi. "Of course, no one is denser with love than our Kyoko-chan, but you really don't stand a chance against Japan's Number One Hottest Male."

I did tell you he was, didn't I?  
Hikaru did a face palm and spoke from underneath his hand, "Don't rub it in."

But really, why bother? Because of course Shinichi would rub it in. Like so: "Man, you never stood a chance! There's a _reason_ she's in the LoveMe section! Yeah, Yuusei and I treat her like a little sister because she kind of is, and you need to as well, because she'll never love you back. Plus, you're too short."

Hikaru began to get flustered. Before he could stutter out a response, Ishibashi Yuusei appeared to his rescue. "It's not because of your height, Hikaru. I honestly think you two would make a great couple."

Sighing, Hikaru ran a hand through his long, brown hair. "Yuusei, did you see who came to pick Kyoko-chan up?"

"You're never going to win her, you do know that, right?" Shinichi commented dryly.

Hikaru ignored him, and Yuusei took his turn to speak. "I was helping clean up the set, Hikaru, remember? How could I have seen Kyoko-chan leave?"

Shaking his head, Hikaru said, "Tsu-_the_ Tsuruga Ren came to pick her up."

Yuusei cocked his head and gave Hikaru a questioning look. "So? They work together. He was probably taking her to the set of Dark Moon for filming."

Hikaru gave Yuusei a baleful look. "I know. But when he looked at her, his eyes were filled with love. He's hopelessly in love with her!"

Yuusei blinked and stared blankly at Hikaru. Then, the biggest supporter of Hikaru and Kyoko getting together frowned, sighed, and walked off, but not without the departing comment of, "Tough luck."

Hikaru sank to the floor in despair as Shinichi patted him on the back. Shinichi said to his crestfallen friend, "Maybe you'll meet another girl someday."

One glare, several attempted punches and several successful dodges later, as well as a crash and slight howl from the pain of slamming one's fist into the wall later, Hikaru, nursing a wounded fist, let Shinichi lead him to their break room, where a dinner of the notoriously unhealthy okonomi-anpan and Golden Cola awaited them.

…

While the three co-workers were voluntarily heading off to eat, Kyoko was finding herself in a very difficult position with a co-worker of her own who seemed _never_ to eat voluntarily. Sometimes Kyoko felt like her sole purpose in life was to make sure Tsuruga Ren ate properly to avoid fainting on the job, something Miss Mogami was seriously surprised he had yet to do.

Right now, a break had been called in the filming of Dark Moon, and so Kyoko found herself crouching down in front of a sitting Tsuruga-san and holding out a bento box she'd carefully made this morning. "Eat," she commanded.

Like a stubborn child, Ren turned his head away from the food, only to jerk back in surprise as Kyoko and her bento box magically appeared in front of his turned head. "Eat," she said again, her voice turning dark, her Grudge Kyokos peeking out from over her shoulder, eager to hold Ren down and force the food down his mouth.

Again he turned his head, uttering a short, "No."

And again Kyoko popped in front of him, shoving a forkful of noodles towards his mouth, which he quickly pushed away. "Eat," she said a third time, her aura becoming dark and powerful.

Ren glanced meaningfully at his watch. "Break's over in a minute. No."

Face turning wrathful, Kyoko thrust the fork at Tsuruga's mouth, to which he positioned both hands in front of his face to guard himself. Thus began a power struggle, Kyoko thrusting the fork towards his mouth and Tsuruga bravely shielding himself from her fury, straining to keep the morsel of food entering his mouth and staining his pure-white smile before going on camera.

Don't ask me how noodles can 'stain one's smile'. Remember, this is Tsuruga-san, Mister 'I-won't-eat-anything' here.

And of course, Yashiro Yukihito, Tsuruga's ever-faithful manager, stood off to the side, watching the scene with hearts in his eyes.

Another title of his could be, 'Kyoko-Renship Ultimate Supporting Fangirl'. I honestly wish I could say 'fanguy'. I really do. But I can't. His behavior and expressions, etc…I just can't.

At the moment, he was practically salivating over the scene before him. It only served to further assure him that Ren and Kyoko really were meant to be.

Speaking of Yashiro's favorite couple, can you guess who just won the match?

If it was based on pure strength alone, Ren would win. He really is a strong guy.

But factor in Kyoko's Grudge Kyokos? Not a chance.

And so it was that Tsuruga Ren stood up, fork stuck in his mouth, swiped the bento box from Kyoko, took out the fork, swallowed noodles from said fork, and proceeded to wolf down, albeit elegantly, for this is Tsuruga Ren, Kyoko's bento box in a record-breaking thirty seconds, finishing just as Director Ogata called for all actors to come back on set.

Satisfied, Kyoko took the empty bento box and placed it in the recycling bin. Yashiro came over to stand by her. "That was well handled."

She beamed up at him. "You think so?"

Yashiro nodded, smiling. "Yes. But I do have one question. Why a fork? I didn't take you to be the kind who prefers Western-style implements to traditional ones."

Kyoko was already shaking her head, her black hair (for she was in Mio's costume) waving back and forth. "Believe me, Yashiro-san," she said, "out of anyone, I most would use chopsticks. But Tsuruga-sempai likes to eat quickly, so I thought he would be able to eat faster if I gave him a fork instead."

Yashiro nodded. "I'm sure he appreciates it."

Kyoko smiled happily. "I hope so. Yashiro-san, you really need to make sure Tsuruga-san eats properly."

Sighing, Yashiro grimaced. "I try. Believe me, I try."

"Scene 45 coming up!" a voice yelled in the background. Giving a quick bow to Yashiro, Kyoko apologized, explaining that she was in this next scene.

"No problem!" Yashiro said, waving as she left. He grinned evilly to himself as he inconspicuously reached into Kyoko's bag and pulled out her schedule for the next week. Flipping through it, his mind began to formulate reasons for him to make Ren and Kyoko run into each other.

…

The slight patter of feet gave away his position. Kyoko stood stock-still as Tsuruga-san approached her. They were in an empty classroom, Kyoko staring darkly down at her desk. Tsuruga finally reached her, and bent over to ask her a question. Before he could speak, a knife whipped out of Kyoko's school uniform sleeve and she held it to Tsuruga's throat. His face turned into one distorted with fear as Kyoko stood up and backed Tsuruga into a wall, knife still held at his throat.

Normally, this would seem to be a very odd, and scary, position for the two to be in. But this was not Tsuruga and Kyoko. Well, Tsuruga was still himself, but he was currently playing the role of Katsuki. Kyoko, on the other hand, was gone. Sure, her body was still there. But it was not Kyoko inside it. Rather, a dark murderous young rich lady had taken over. Kyoko wasn't merely portraying Mio.

She _was _Mio.

The scar may have been fake, the schoolgirl clothes merely a costume, the knife a simple prop, but it didn't matter, because to Mio everything was real. And right now, Katsuki was bugging her.

"What do you want?" she asked, voice heavy with darkness and disdain.

Katsuki raised his hands defensively, but Mio simply gave an eerie smile to this reaction and brandished the knife once more, causing him to lower his hands to their former position. "Look, I just wanted to talk to you about Mizuki-san!"

Mio abruptly turned away and put the knife up. "Ah, Mizuki. My dear cousin." Turning to look back at Katsuki, her face took on a look of pure evil. "Why Mizuki? Shouldn't you be inquiring of Misao?"

Katsuki blinked, startled. Of course! What reason did he have to be asking Mio of Mizuki? "W-well yes, I was going to ask of Hongo-san next! But I wanted to speak to you of Mizuki-san. She hasn't been to any of my piano lessons for a few days now. Is everything alright?"

Bringing out the knife once more, Mio switched it between hands, then held it in her right hand and nicked her left, letting the blood run down her finger. Her face showed no emotion. "Strange, isn't it?"

After the silence, Katsuki was a bit startled when he found he was being addressed. He was terrified of Mio, but his love for Mizuki, though he would never admit it, kept him in place. "What's strange?" he asked hesitantly, staring nervously at the blood trickling down Mio's finger.

Still not looking at Katsuki, Mio nicked a second finger. "You refer to my dear cousin as Mizuki-san, yet you only call your fiancé Hongo-san?"

Katsuki froze. Another slip-up. "Th-that is because, you see-"

Mio waved her hand, cutting him off. Walking over to him, she placed the knife at his throat once more, then brought it down to trace his arm gently with the tip. A quick flick of her wrist opened a cut on his arm, causing the teacher to flinch. "Do not worry, Katsuki." Mio never used honorifics. After all, they were only for people you respected, right? And Mio respected no one. Bringing her face close to his, she whispered, "I won't tell."

Pulling back, she nicked a third finger with her knife, then held up her hand and stroked Katsuki's cheek, leaving three red stripes on his face. "Suiting, no?" she asked, then turned to go get her bookbag. "I do not care what you call my sister. Misao can go die."

Katsuki reeled backwards in shock from the blatant way Mio just admitted she would rather her sister be dead. Even if he was using Misao for revenge, it still came as a shock to him.

Bookbag on her shoulder, Mio walked up to Katsuki. "Misao is mad at my dear cousin. Poor Mizuki is being held in her room forcefully. Oh how sad." Laughing to herself, Mio made her way to the door. Before she left, she gave Katsuki one last message. "I take it you are going to rescue my dear cousin now. I only ask one thing of you."

Katsuki nodded, flustered that she was actually helping him. "Anything," he agreed.

Mio's face turned to one of pure evil, and she smirked, darkness surrounding her being. She reached up and brushed her hair out of the way, revealing her scar in pure view. "Misao is mine." With a deft turn of her heel, Mio left, laughing quietly but demonically, her eyes narrowed in pure hatred.

Katsuki stared after her in shock, before quickly gathering his own things to prepare for Mizuki's rescue.

"And CUT." Director Ogata's voice was loud and clear, as well as excited. "That was brilliant, you two!" he exclaimed, then looked out the classroom door. "Um, Kyoko-chan? You can come back in now?"

Tsuruga smiled. "I think she might still be Mio. Let me go get her." Leaving the room, he found that his guess was correct. Mio was leaning against the wall, fingering her scar and staring out into space, plotting the many revenges she could have on her hated sister.

Ren kneeled down slightly so that he was face to face with Mio. He brought his hand up and snapped his fingers in her face, saying, "Mogami-san, the scene's over."

With a jolt, Mio was gone and a flustered Kyoko was standing there. "Ah, Tsuruga-san! I'm so sorry, I got too into the part again!"

Ren smiled and shook his head. "Not to worry, Mogami-san. The filming is done for today now anyway."

"So the director thought I did well on the scene? I mean, of course you nailed it but I wasn't sure if I did, I hope I did as good as you and-"

Ren placed a hand on her lips to silence her.

It did the trick.

Kyoko immediately stopped talking, and blushed a deep red, pulling her head backwards, away from his hand. Ren spoke, "Mogami-san, you did a brilliant job. Your acting, to be quite frank, scared even me. Your Mio is such a powerful character, and you act her perfectly. The scene was readily okayed, and now we can go home."

Kyoko smiled nervously, then let out a sigh of relief. "That's good then! I was so scared I wouldn't get it right! It's such a hard scene! Though I'm sure it was really easy for you, Tsuruga-san."

Ren stood up straight again and said, "The scene was just as hard for me as it was for you, Mogami-san. When are you going to accept that you are as much of a pro as I am at acting?"

Kyoko tilted her head to the side, a look of confusion in her eyes. "When I am?" she answered, and Ren sighed. Humility was a good thing, but even that particular trait had an extreme side.

"Come on, I'll give you a drive." Ren beckoned for Kyoko to follow him to the make-up room, to get her scar and wig removed, before going home for the evening.

…

Akiyama Takumi was thrilled to have been chosen to portray Ito Haruki, a favorite character from a favorite book series, now being made into what would hopefully be a favorite drama. Even more thrilling was the opportunity to star opposite Mogami Kyoko, one of his favorite actresses, who would be playing the other lead, Nakano Tsubasa.

I know what you're thinking.

And you're wrong.

For you see, though Takumi was a young, handsome actor, aged nineteen with a nice albeit somewhat short (only 5'6") figure and lean, hardened muscles as well as sparkling blue eyes and silky black hair, he was not in love with Kyoko, nor did he ever even think of attempting to charm her, and make her fall in love with him. Takumi was, above all things, NOT a playboy. No, the reason for him being so thrilled to work with Kyoko was because he'd heard of her ability to actually 'become' her character, and held her in great respect.

To clear another thing up: the book-series-based-drama, entitled Nouseishoku Kouen (Dark Blue Flame) and nicknamed Kouen, was not a romance. No, the story centered on the characters of Tsubasa and Haruki, but though they were not related in the story, there was never any romance between the two.

Much to Tsuruga Ren's relief. After all, of course the man was afraid Kyoko would have to, perish the thought, _kiss_ another man. Even if it was for acting, Ren felt like he should keep that right for himself (as for he was concerned, Sho's didn't count), if the time ever came.

He was working on it.

Anyways, where was I? Ah, yes, Takumi. At this moment, Takumi was getting dressed for his character, putting on a black, form-fitting suit, and then clipping on a belt with various tools of mayhem, such as a sharpened dagger, a smoke bomb, a length of rope attached to a grappling hook, and a set of lockpicks.

He was just straightening his belt when Kyoko rushed past him. She'd just arrived from filming for Box R's second season, as, after only three episodes, the show was one of the highest rated in Japan among all ages, and now, with its twenty-fourth of twenty-six episodes airing, was hitting its main climax. Their filming was taking place mid-second season, and that, combined with Dark Moon, was keeping Kyoko busy. But she liked that just fine, even if it did make her a little late to other items, though she tried her hardest to be as on time as she could.

Hence why Takumi was left laughing as his co-star sped past him and into the dressing rooms. Shaking his head, still smiling, Takumi left to go to the set, which consisted of a giant green-painted wall (green screen with support) for this particular scene.

The scene would consist of Haruki, played by Takumi, and Tsubasa, Kyoko's character, scaling a large, glass building to thieve a computer chip with precious information on it revealing the possible whereabouts of Kakon (literally 'root of evil'), the head of their enemies.

Kouen was set in a futuristic Tokyo, in an undefined day and age, in which many inventions were possible, but in which the world was in a state of almost ruin, except for the Silver City, Tokyo, the only city yet to succumb to the darkness, poverty, and utter despair and destruction the rest of the world was in.

Tsubasa and Haruki were two friends, trained by a group called Lysandier, who worked for said group as almost spies, though nothing of the sort existed anymore. Together the two gathered information and fought against a mysterious person, whose _gender _even remained a mystery, code-named Kakon. Kakon led a large group of followers and desired to take over Tokyo and thus take over the world.

Lysandier, and their top sutoraikas (strikers), Tsubasa and Haruki, made it their ultimate goal to stop Kakon and prevent the world from falling under his/her dominative and crushing rule.

Takumi let himself be placed in the harness needed for the scene, and watched a fully-costumed (simply picture an outfit like Takumi's, as well as Kyoko's normal hair-dyed color of orange, and you have her outfit) Kyoko come in, grinning and waving to her. When she spotted the director, a certain Koshin Masato, she let out a strange noise and fell to the floor in an ultimate dogeza bow.

"I'M SO SOOOOOORRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!" she wailed. "PLEASE FOOOORRRRGGGGIIIIVVVEEE ME KOSHIN-SAAAANNNN! I WAS LATE BECAUSE I HAD WOOOORRKK BUT IF I HAD ONLY GONE FASTER I COULD HAVE MADE IT ON TIIIIIMMMMMEEEEE!" Her miniature Kyokos floated around her, pleading with the director as well.

Director Koshin had leapt back in fright when Kyoko had dropped to the floor and begun her apology, and everyone else in the room stared at her in shock. Takumi just shook his head and did a face-palm. He had talked with Tsuruga Ren a few days before meeting Kyoko, because he wanted to know about her, and guessed her co-star and sempai might give him some tips about her. You see, though he'd heard wonderful things of her work ethic, he'd also heard many strange stories…

So Tsuruga (once he realized that Takumi would not later become a love rival) proceeded to inform the young actor of Kyoko's…let's just say 'exaggerated' reactions to various things.

Such as now.

It was a shock for Takumi, certainly, but he had been warned…

At the moment, he was regretting not warning the rest of the crew as well. They had only been filming for a week now, so of course they hadn't placed Kyoko's personality in a detailed folder yet (not literally).

Flustered, Koshin held out his hands and tried to console the girl. "C-calm down, Kyoko-chan! I'm not mad at you! I understand you have a busy schedule, and you got here as fast as you could! It's okay, you are forgiven, please calm down!"

Kyoko looked up, giving him a tearful glance. "But I was laaaateee!"

Koshin held out his hand and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it! You have a very valid excuse." Sniffling, Kyoko took the proffered hand and stood up. "Now, let's start the filming of the scene!"

Before leaving, Kyoko bowed once more (not a dogeza this time) to the director and said, "Sumimasen, Koshin-san. I promise I'll try not to do it again."

The forty-year-old director stroked his chin, shaking his head in disbelief. This girl must have some sort of multiple-personality disorder. But she was loved by all the cast and crew, and Koshin was certainly glad he chose her for the role. "Like I said, Kyoko-chan, do not worry about it."

Still, Kyoko hesitated before leaving, but she shook her head, emptied her thoughts of any worries, and left to go stand next to Takumi and get outfitted in her harness. "Ready?" Koshin's voice called out loud and clear.

Kyoko looked towards him, then blinked and was gone. And in her place was Nakano Tsubasa, a cocky, arrogant, tough, fiery-tempered, fiercely loyal, determined, tomboyish striker of Lysandier.

"ACTION."

Tsubasa looked up at the building before her. Though it was only a green wall, she saw the glass building it was supposed to represent. Smirking, she turned to Takumi, who was now thoroughly engrossed, if not totally 'one with his role' (like Kyoko), and jerked her head upwards. "Ready to find Kakon?"

Haruki gave a grin as sly as his friends, then gestured. "Ladies first." Rolling her eyes, Tsubasa pulled out a power glove, a device that allowed her to stick to any surface at the press of a button, and release at another press. Putting on both gloves, she began to climb, Haruki behind her.

"Think we'll have any luck?" Haruki asked.

Tsubasa pondered the question. "Dunno," she answered. "I hope so. I want to kick that baka Kakon into the next century. He's wrecking our world even more than it already is." Enraged, she spat towards the ground below her.

Haruki raised an eyebrow. "'He?' Remember, Kakon could be a boy or a girl."

"Yeah, but an aho like that could only be a sleezy old man with some sort of age-slowing device," Tsubasa retorted.

"Girls can be plenty bad too," Haruki remarked dryly.

Tsubasa didn't catch his jibe at her. "Girls can be bad, but I _know_ Kakon's a guy."

Haruki sighed in defeat. "I gotta admit, I think so too." Then he added, "But I bet Kakon thinks we're _both_ guys. Considering you don't even know how to _act_ like a girl, let alone look like one."

Tsubasa turned her head to look down at Haruki and stuck her tongue out. "Baka-zuki," she muttered, then glanced upwards. "Come on. We gotta keep moving."

"CUT. Great job, you two! Get ready for the next scene." Koshin waved them away so that the crew could prepare for the next scene.

Kyoko shook her head to clear Tsubasa out, then smiled and followed Takmi to the dressing rooms to prepare for the next scene.

…

In another part of Tokyo, Ren had also just finished a scene, and was waiting impatiently by his car for Yashiro to show up. He remembered how Yashiro had gotten a call, then told Ren to wait for him while he took it, because it was urgent.

Ren snorted. Urgent. Unlikely. He was probably collaborating with Takarada Lory in some new scheme to force him to confess to Kyoko.

_Riiiiing. Riiiiiiing._

And speak of the devil.

…

I know, I know, not really much of a plot to the story yet. Like I said, I really don't have this planned out.

Bad me.

Anyways, if you spot anything wrong with my writing, such as typos and the like, feel free to tell me! Constructive criticism is always welcome, but note 'constructive'. Flames are never appreciated (though why would you want to flame a canon pairing?). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Review, people! And I will give you virtual brownies! *holds out plate* You know you want some! xP


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Ni (Two) people! Ready for it?

Too bad. I've got a quick message first. Guess, hehe, I probably should have mentioned this in my first author's note, but I'll put it on here, and even bold it so you all will read it. Howzat?

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: **_**I UPDATE MY STORIES **__**ONCE A WEEK**__**, ON **__**MONDAYS**__**. **_

This way, everything is at a set schedule. Don't keep checking back here, except on Mondays, as those are the only days I post. I made this schedule to ensure that I have enough time between school and band to write out the chapter.

I bet all those who skip over the author's note (it's okay, I do it sometimes too) got the memo. It's not shouting, by the way, it's just to make sure you guys know my schedule. ;D Just think of it as a TV show: a new episode airs on Monday each week. Sorry about not stating that earlier.

San. Ni. Ichi….Go!

Burning Blue: Chapter Two

"Hello?" Ren asked as he answered Takarada Lory, the president of LME's, call.

"Ah, Ren! I was wondering if perhaps you could meet me in my office tomorrow morning? I've checked your schedule and I believe you're free at the time!" Lory exclaimed. Well, the man exclaimed pretty much everything. It's hard not to when you're riding an elephant, or marching at the head of a parade. Which Lory often was. At this moment, though, he was merely sitting in his office, petting a leopard.

Ren sighed. (No, not because of the leopard. He would if he knew about it, though.) "Alright, Takarada-san. I'll be there. This doesn't have anything to do with Mogami-san, does it?"

Lory had to keep from laughing. Of _course_ it had something to do with Kyoko! Playing matchmaker was much too fun to abstain from. "No, of course not, Ren! Buh-bye!" He hung up, leaving Ren staring at his phone.

Suddenly exhausted, Ren began to massage his temple. "Why can I never believe a word that man says?"

…

Kotonami Kanae sat, arms crossed, outside of Takarada Lory's office. Why, oh why, did he wish to see her? She had a busy schedule, you know. But not as busy as the man's sitting across from her.

Okay, Kanae might have understood if it was just her talking to Lory. But _why_ was she going in with Tsuruga-san? Right now, he sat across from her, on a plush bench against the opposite wall. As far as Kanae could tell, nothing connected the two of them, except maybe…

…

"Kyoko-chan! Hey!" Takumi called, running after the young actress as she was about to exit the doors of the building.

Turning around, she smiled and waved to Takumi. "What is it, Akiyama-san?"

Catching up to her, he stopped and gave her a toothy grin. "Listen, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come with me for some tea and miso soup? I was thinking we could run through our lines for the next scene together, and just enjoy a nice break from filming."

Don't even think it. I know you are. Drop that thought immediately. I have already explained that young Takumi harbors no feelings of love for Kyoko. Rather, the two have become like brother and sister. Siblings _do_ actually go out to eat with each other. You just don't see it often because most times, siblings have a tendency to hate each other. Or at least fight all the time. Don't ask me why.

You 'only children' won't understand this.

Uh, right. Kyoko and Takumi…brother/sister relationship. Remember that.

"Sure, I'd love to!" Kyoko replied, happy that her schedule was actually free until noon, leaving her three empty hours this morning. She'd been planning on visiting Tsuruga-san, but when she called, Yashiro-san said he was busy. In an important meeting with Takarada-san, or something like that.

As they exited the building, Takumi pointed to his car, a small station wagon. Kyoko was a bit surprised by its beat-up state, knowing that he could easily afford better. When she posed the question to him, he shrugged it off. "I bought this car when I was sixteen, after several odd jobs. I love it, and I refuse to get rid of it until its time."

Kyoko nodded. "I understand." The two walked over and Takumi gestured for Kyoko to get in. She happily did so. Once she was situated, she looked up at the driver's seat and asked, "Hey, Akiyama-san? I-uh, I know this is presumptuous but-"

"Come now, Kyoko-chan, spit it out already!" Takumi said, already smiling to himself, since he had a guess what her question might be.

Taking a deep breath, Kyoko said quickly, "Can I call you Takumi-kun?" Nervous, she closed her eyes, but ended up peeking through the slits to see Takumi's reaction.

Laughing, Takumi turned around and gave her a thumbs-up. "Of course!" he said. "We're friends, aren't we?"

'Friends'.

The word echoed around in Kyoko's head as she sat in the backseat, becoming lost in a dream world, as she was prone to do.

…

Kyoko's _best_ friend was not so happy.

If she had to listen to another word from the president's mouth, she felt like she was going to explode in rage. Why? It had to with LoveMe's next assignment.

Ahem. To quote Mr. Takarada: "Kotonami-kun, Ren-san, thank you both for choosing on this day to meet with me."

_As if we had a choice._ Surprisingly, though the two would never know, Kanae and Ren had exactly the same thought at that moment.

"Now, I have called you both here to talk of a very important person."

_Oh no, it _is _about Kyoko._ The planets must have been aligned on this day, for two people to be having exact, word for word thoughts at exact, second for second time.

"You see, I want to do something for this person, and it also involves helping another important person." After stating this, he glanced pointedly at Ren.

_Oh God, he means Ren._

_Oh God, he means me._

"I believe that these two people, namely the latter I mentioned, need to be given a kick in the rear to realize-" Takarada halted as he found himself hastily interrupted by Ren.

"Sir, I can only guess as to what you're talking about, but why does it involve myself and Kotonami-san? And should you really be meddling in these two people's lives? Perhaps they don't _want_ your help."

Lory flapped a hand. "Ridiculous. Whether they want it or not, my help is entirely needed. And, as you seem to have guessed, it involves you two because _you_," and here he glanced at Ren, "are one of the people in question."

Kanae had somehow managed to remain silent through this, but now she had to speak. "Mo! How does this involve _me_?"

Lory sat back and rested his hands on his lap, smiling devilishly. We _all_ know this is never a good sign. "It involves _you_, Kotonami-kun, because you are the LoveMe member I am assigning my all-important task to."

Sighing, Kanae asked, "What's the 'task'?"

Now, Kanae sighed because of Lory's puppy-dog eyes, of which he gave her right after stating his sentence. Obviously, he had wanted her to ask what it was. And surprisingly enough, turning down a middle-aged man with puppy-dog eyes is harder than it seems…as Kanae just found out.

Perking up, Lory answered, eyes twinkling mischievously, "Your task is to help me force Ren to confess his undying love for Kyoko."

"WHAT?" Ren leaped out of his chair. "What are you talking about, Takarada-san?" he asked nervously, taking furtive sidelong glances at Kanae. "Haha, that's a wonderful joke sir! Really, it truly is! Oh, you got us-"

"Stow it already, Tsuruga-san. Mo, you really _do_ like Kyoko. And hear I'd thought maybe my eyes were tricking me, for the likelihood is just so small," Kanae said, raising an eyebrow at Ren's shocked expression. Well, okay, he had a shocked expression for a _moment_. But then it got replaced by his 'Gentlemanly Smile.'

Squinting, Kanae held her hand above her eyes, as if shielding them from a light. "Mo! Kyoko was right, that _is_ a scary face."

Ren's smile grew broader. "What face? Scary? Me?" he asked innocently.

"Sit down, Ren," Lory commanded. "Now, Kotonami-kun, like I said, I'd like you to help get Mogami-kun and Ren-san together as a couple."

Crossing her arms, Kanae leaned back in her chair. "And how do you propose I do that?" she asked. "I'm a member of the LoveMe section too, if you recall. Something about missing a vital emotion? Why do you want me to help get a couple together?"

Lory nodded. "I understand your reasoning. However, what I ask of you isn't that hard. My request is that you spend a little time with Ren, to better understand his feelings for Mogami-kun, and then push, subtly mind you, Mogami-kun towards Ren. Direct conversations and inevitably thoughts to him, bring him to her mind. And maybe, that girl will learn to love again."

And thus everything turns full circle.

As I said at the beginning, Kanae was not very happy. Well, actually 'exploding with rage' was how I put it, wasn't it? And now you know why.

Kanae didn't want to help the president with one of his stupid schemes. She didn't want to be a double-agent against her friend. She didn't want to play matchmaker. And most importantly, she didn't want to lose her best friend to some guy, even if it was the super gentleman Tsuruga-san.

However, she wanted to see her friend happy, because that would make _her_ happy. Kyoko's moods could sometimes be infectious. The only problem was: Kyoko was very, _very _dense when it came to love. There was no possible way she would believe her sempai, Tsuruga Ren, Japan's Number One Hottest Male, who could literally have any woman he could want, would fall for her. Not possible.

In fact, Kanae hadn't quite believed it herself the first time she learned of Ren's infatuation. She began to put the pieces together after watching how Ren acted around Kyoko. At first, she doubted his feelings were real, but upon closer observation, her worries were assuaged, and she began to truly believe that Ren loved her friend.

Ren, at the moment, was shocked. Kanae knew? If she knew, then maybe others did! And if others did-what if they told Kyoko? She wasn't ready to know his feelings just yet! She was still in high school! Okay, so she'd be graduating in a few months, but still!

"Would you quit with the deer-in-headlights I'm-so-horrified look! It's not very obvious, Ren, I promise. It's only apparent to those who know you well, or those rare few who can tell by how you look at the person." Lory drummed his fingers on his desk.

Ren looked at Kanae, who was still turning the assignment over in her head. "What about her? She doesn't know me very well!"

Lory held up a finger. "Ah, but she has seen you plenty of times around Mogami-kun, which would make it much easier for her to figure out. Right, Kotonami-kun?"

Blinking, Kanae started after being called to attention. "What, mo? Oh, yeah, that's how I figured it out. And don't worry, your secret's safe with me." All of a sudden, Kanae's face grew dark and menacing. "But if you _ever_ lay a finger on Kyoko with the tiniest bit of intent to harm her, or your feelings ever turn out to be false, I _will_ hunt you down and skin you for a throw rug. Do you understand me?"

Ren nodded, face dead serious. "I understand. But trust me when I say that I will do all in my power to keep Mogami-san safe from all harm, and that my feelings will never be false."

A clap from Lory's hands brought their attention back to the president of LME. "Then it's settled!" he said gleefully. "Kotonami-kun, you have your new assignment! Ren, maybe with a little help you might stand a chance. Now off you go!"

…

Takarada Maria couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Ren, her precious Ren-sama, loved her onee-sama? How was this possible? Before she could brood over the matter anymore, the clump of feet on the floor alerted her that Ren-sama and that mean girl would be leaving the room soon.

Hurriedly, Maria scurried away from the door to her grandfather's office, where she had been eavesdropping on their private conversation, and sought a place of solitude. When she found one, underneath the staircase, she set herself to the all important task of brooding.

Ren-sama liked Onee-sama. How could this happen? How?

Well, at least Maria knew that Onee-sama wasn't hurting Maria herself. From the sounds of it, Onee-sama didn't have a clue Ren-sama liked her. BUT-he liked her. Not Maria. Onee-sama.

Maria was torn. Normally, she would chase the girls after Ren-sama away. But the other way around? And with one of her most respected people? How could she stop Ren-sama, if he really loved Onee-sama? Plus, it was Onee-sama. Maria would never hurt her big sister.

Muttering darkly under her breath, Maria pulled out a candle and began to sort through her mind as to what type of curse/prayer would be appropriate in a situation like this. Or rather, whether a curse _or_ prayer was appropriate.

Which one? Maria couldn't decide, but finally her eyes widened as she realized what to ask her candle for.

Lighting it, she closed her eyes, thinking, _Please let Ren-sama be together happily with the one he loves._

…

Kanae glanced up nervously at Ren as they walked out of the president's office and down the hallways. He was annoyingly silent. Finally, after a good distance from Lory's workplace, Ren stopped and turned to Kanae. "Kotonami-san, you don't have to do what he says."

Instead of answering, Kanae kept walking. Man, this situation was awkward. Just…grah! Spinning around on her heel, she jabbed her finger against Ren's chest. "Listen up, you! First, he'll probably fire me if I _don't_ do what he says. That man is not normal! Second, I want Kyoko to be happy. I know, at least at the moment, she likes being around you, even if she doesn't love you…yet. But maybe, someday, she will. Better get it over with now, though. Got that? I'm doing the task, and so are you! So get off your frightened tail and _do_ something about your feelings, or I will. Are we clear?"

Ren blinked, shocked by her outburst. "Yes, of course," he replied suavely, though inside his mind, he was dealing with a maelstrom of thoughts.

"Good. Now that that's over with, I've got a drama to go work again, and I bet you do too." Huffing, Kanae turned and stormed off down the hallway, leaving a bemused Ren.

Watching her, he let out a small chuckle. _She really does care about Mogami-san, _he thought, _though I bet she'd never admit it._

Glancing at his watch, he found that Kanae was right. It was ten o'clock, and he had to be at the set of Dark Moon by eleven. And if he was correct, which he normally was, Kyoko would be joining him at noon.

Smiling to himself, Ren walked down the hallways to his car, where his manager waited impatiently. He bet Yashiro wanted to know what the second-ranked supporter of the Kyoko-Renship had said to his charge.

As I said, he was normally correct, such was the case this time as well.

…

If yesterday was bad, today was infinitely worse for poor Ishibashi Hikaru. He stood, mouth agape, staring through the restaurant window at Kyoko eating breakfast, or brunch, or lunch, or snack, or whatever! Forget it. She was eating _food_ with an anonymous young, good-looking man. And worse, they were staring intently at each other, as if they were very focused on the situation.

WHY, DEAR GODS, OF ALL THINGS, WHY?

First, Tsuruga Ren pretty much openly declared to Hikaru that he was in love with Kyoko. And now, here she was, on a _date_ with some random man!

Puffing his chest out, and setting his mouth in a determined line, Hikaru strode into the restaurant and right past the waitress covering the entrance. He marched straight to Kyoko's table, and put on a smiling face. "Hey Kyoko!" he said cheerfully.

Surprised, Kyoko looked up, then grinned. "Hikaru-kun! Would you like to join us?"

Now the poor Ishibashi was confused. Putting on a bit of a swagger, he laid his elbow on the table and looked from Kyoko to the strange man to Kyoko again. "Join you? But wouldn't I be interrupting?"

"Not at all!" Kyoko exclaimed, then pulled up a chair. "Come on, sit with us!"

_This girl does not know how to handle a date_, Hikaru thought. Still, it'd be best to take advantage. Why shouldn't he? He quickly grabbed a chair and sat down next to Kyoko. "So who's your friend?" he asked, looking pointedly at the stranger.

"Oh!" Kyoko almost leapt out of her seat in shock and shame. "I forgot to introduce you! Hikaru-kun, this is Akiyama Takumi. He's co-starring with me in a new drama! Takumi-kun, this is Ishibashi Hikaru-"

"From Bridge Rock! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Takumi exclaimed, holding out his hand for Hikaru to shake.

Glaring at it resentfully, Hikaru took his hand, squeezing extra hard, and let go. There. That would show Takumi how tough he was.

Realizing that Hikaru was jealous of him, Takumi's eyes took on a playful glint. "It's great to meet a friend of Kyoko's! She's really like the little sister I never had," he said, and grinned as he got the expected reaction from Hikaru.

The reaction? It was thus: when Takumi said she was like a little sister, all blood drained from Hikaru's face. No one would ever say that on a date, or if they ever even _wanted_ a date. "Oh, uh, that's great!" he said, chuckling nervously.

Perking up from a thought, Kyoko said, "Would you like to watch us while we rehearse our lines, and tell us how we did?" Only now did Hikaru notice the packets of paper in each of their hands.

"Sure," he said, grinning uneasily.

As the two began to rehearse, he recognized that when he saw the two staring intently at each other, it was because they were rehearsing their scene, not staring into each other's eyes, or whatever reason Hikaru had come up with in his mind.

When they finished, Hikaru applauded, albeit quietly, as they were in a restaurant. "Great job! Listen, I think I have to go now. See you later, Kyoko?"

"Yep!" she replied happily.

When Hikaru stood up to go, Takumi did as well. "I'll see you out, if you'd like," he offered.

With a glance at Kyoko, Hikaru said, "Uh, sure, that'd be great!"

Once the two had walked outside, Takumi placed his hand over his mouth to cover his laughter. Fuming, Hikaru snapped, "It wasn't that funny!"

"Haha, my apologies!" Takumi chortled. "Listen, it's okay! I understand where you got the idea from, but believe me when I said she was like a little sister to me. It's a good thing she's so clueless in the relationship area, or you might have really embarrassed yourself."

"Like I didn't already," Hikaru muttered, but Takumi waved him off.

"Nonsense," the Kouen star said, "I was the only one who noticed, and I won't tell. I best be getting back now. It was nice to meet you!" Before leaving, he paused. "On a thought, how do you two know each other?"

Hikaru opened his mouth to reply, before remembering that Kyoko didn't want anyone to know she was Bo. "Uh, we're in the same agency, so we run into each other a lot," he said, knowing it was a feeble excuse.

"Uh-huh," Takumi said, eyeing Hikaru doubtfully. "Well, I'll be going now."

As soon as Takumi left, Hikaru began to search for a good, solid wall to bang his head on.

…

"Mio-san! What are you doing here?" Mizuki exclaimed as she stepped into the kitchen.

Still sitting at the table, Mio glanced towards her, raising an eyebrow. "This is my house, is it not?" she asked quietly.

"W-well yes, of course! I just-I just didn't expect to see you here!" Mizuki said, stuttering.

Mio watched Mizuki. "In the kitchen. Why not expect me in the kitchen?"

"Well, th-that's because-"

Mizuki was cut off as Mio slammed her fists onto the table, then stood up abruptly. She walked over until there was only a foot between herself and her cousin. "What do _you_ want, being in the kitchen?" she asked, her voice syrupy and laden with disdain.

Mizuki gulped visibly. She was terrified of Mio. "I was here to-to prepare some food! For lunch! Th-that's all!"

Smirking, Mio shook in silent laughter. "For dear Katsuki, I presume?"

Her cousin froze in shock. Mio knew? But-know one had been able to guess! They really didn't even have a relationship going...they just liked each other's company. "Wh-what do you mean?" she asked.

"You're happy, aren't you?" Mio asked, eyes hard. "You're always happy. And now you have a wonderful boyfriend. Well, I certainly didn't expect my perfect cousin to _steal_ something...or rather, someone. But you have done it."

Mizuki took a step backwards, inching her way towards the door. "K-Katsuki-kun and I aren't dating! A-and I didn't steal-"

"Congratulations are in order, I presume," Mio said with a smile. Her face froze in its dark expression. "Do you hate Misao?" she asked quietly.

Mizuki looked frightened, but then shook her head. "No. I don't hate your sister."

"DON'T call her that!" Mio hissed, shoving Mizuki against the wall. "And I thought you were finally beginning to understand me. Look, tell your _boyfriend_ to keep a close eye on you. Why? No one likes you, Mizuki. He pushes you away. Misao despises you. I hate you. Don't cross me, if you know what's good for you. Now leave." Pushing Mizuki aside, Mio stormed out of the room.

Frightened, Mizuki watched the door, waiting for her cousin to come back. Her eyes wandered to the kitchen counter, but on a second thought, she walked out, deciding it was best to follow Mio's orders instead.

"CUT. Take five, everyone," Director Ogata called, then beckoned for Mio, well, now Kyoko, and Momose Itsumi, the actress who portrayed Mizuki, to step forward. "That was amazing, you two! I was worried, because it was such a long scene, but it looks like what they say is correct. 'Third take's a charm!' Go, take half an hour, an hour if you'd like, and reward yourselves. You deserve it."

Itsumi smiled. "Thank you, Ogata-san!" she exclaimed, then ran off. Kyoko bowed and said the same thing.

As she wandered back to the dressing room to remove her wig (she decided it would be best to leave the scar make-up on, so they wouldn't have to reapply it later) she bumped into Ren. "Tsuruga-san! Did I do well?" she asked, excited.

Ren smiled down at her. "You did great, Mogami-san. Would you like me to take you out for lunch as a reward? I have no scenes again until three."

Kyoko was about to refuse, when a thought entered her head. "Can I choose the restaurant?" she asked.

"Of course," said Ren, beaming.

As they walked together towards the dressing room, Kyoko smirked to herself. _With me choosing, _she thought, _I can make sure Tsuruga-san eats properly for once!_

...

So, SweetSarah8 gave me an idea. I wasn't planning on putting much of Hikaru in, but I did because she wanted to see more. Out of curiosity, what would you all like to see in this story? I don't intend to get to the climax for a while, so maybe I can take a few requests and see what I can do. What do you think? If you want to see something in the story, let me know! ;D

Now to reply to my reviews!

Jhiz: Thanks! I'm glad you like the start, the drama, and the narrator's voice. And thanks for being my first reviewer! ;)

Shiroyuki76: Thanks for the help on the names! I went back and corrected the mistakes. Be sure to let me know if you see anymore!;D

Amanthya: Thanks! I'm glad, that even without a plot, you like it so far!

SweetSarah8: You see a lot of potential? That's great! Oh, and I put in some Hikaru. Poor guy. xP

Runadaemon: Virtual treats are very cool. ;P Hmm...that's not good, if you feel like you've heard it before. Hopefully, as it continues, I can take away that mindset.;)

bosk: Awesome! You think it was funny? Haha, that's great! I've never thought of myself as a comedic writer, but I'm glad that someone's actually enjoying it!

As always, reviews and constructive criticism are forever welcome! See you in chapter three!


	3. Chapter 3

Why have I not been updating recently? *pokes profile* My reasons are on there. But since not many people seem to be a creepy person who stalks other people's profiles (like me!xP) I'll just say that I took a break for the month of November due to lots of projects and an attempt at NaNoWriMo...yes, I failed to reach the 50,000 word goal, but that's not important, right? (Part of the reason may be because I started over halfway through the month...NaNoWriMo _fail_.)

So anyways, November is over now, but I'm afraid my updates won't be so regular as I'd like them to be. I'll do my best to get one out a week, but they may not be on the same day, which I know would be much better for you readers. And I'll have to stop posting updates over Winter Break because I won't have access to fanfiction (blocked by dad, have to update through school). I'll continue writing during then, though.

On a side note, about the song…it's kind of a fail…I wrote it in five minutes, so it's not very good. But even then, I'm not a songwriter. So eh. I can hear the melody, but none of you can. I hope you can bear with it. No idea where the topic came from…It was just random, and the first thing that popped into my head...So overall, the song sucks...You can always skip over it, too…

Alright, so here's chapter three! Enjoy!

Burning Blue: Chapter 3

"Where would you like to go?" Ren asked Kyoko. He wasn't terribly surprised she made it a condition to choose the restaurant. Even Ren had to admit to himself his eating habits were horrible.

Kyoko thought for a moment as she and Ren walked out to his car. What would a good place for Ren? Hmmm…_click_. A lightbulb just turned on inside Kyoko's head. "I know a place called Kinshouki. It's a nice little restaurant that serves traditional Japanese food. Plus, they're quick. What do you think?"

Smiling, Ren nodded. It sounded good to him.

Kyoko smiled to herself. _And they serve hamburger steaks…_ she thought dreamily, a small amount of drool leaving her mouth at the thought. _With a nice, sunny-side up egg on top…_

Looking to his left at Kyoko, Ren stifled a smirk. He could tell she was off in her daydreams, and judging by the drool on her mouth, he guessed she was fantasizing about hamburgers.

As they walked, Ren had to try hard not to burst out laughing as he remembered Kyoko when she was small, and thought he was a fairy. "Look, Corn, this stone looks like a hamburger! And this one! And this one!" she'd cry, picking up different flat and round stones. Ren himself had reached down and picked up a large one. "What about this one?" he had asked. Kyoko curtsied to the giant rock. "Oh, Great King Hamburger, I bow to you."

Shaking his head at the fond memories, Ren realized they had just arrived at his car. Opening the door for Kyoko, he said, "Mogami-san, would you like to get in?"

Kyoko immediately snapped out of her reverie. "Oh! Thank you, Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed, getting in the backseat. Ren shut the door and opened his, settling himself into the driver's seat.

"Be ready to tell me the directions," he said, glancing in the rearview mirror to see a smiling Kyoko nod yes.

…

"She doesn't understand.

She never understood.

No matter all his efforts,

Guess he never thought she would.

And now time marches onward

Like a beat to a steady drum,

And life now drags its sorry butt

Through daily dull doldrums.

He can't stand it, cannot bear it,

His heart is broken

Breaking open

He can't stand it, cannot bear it,

One last tiiimmmeee…

He cries out 'She's not miiiinnee!'

And takes the plunge…

And when she hears of her worst fears,

How does this girl reply?

He spent his life for raging strife

And took away the years

Of his time…

Of his time…

Not his time…

Ohhh, not his time…

She says, 'No! It's not my business!

We're through, all's said and done.

I know! He bought a ticket

To a train out of this world."

He's on the ruunn…

All's said and dooonee...

All's said and dooonee…

He can't stand it, cannot bear it,

His heart is broken

Breaking open

He can't stand it, cannot bear it,

One last tiiimmmeee…

He cries out 'She's not miiiinnee!'

And takes the plunge…

She doesn't care

That he's not there

And doesn't give a damn.

To her he was

So sorry 'cause

He was a weakling man.

No regret, no tears or sobs,

She strides on past his grave.

And up in the sky, with all who die,

The man weeps in sad and shame.

He can't stand it, cannot bear it,

His heart is broken

Breaking open

He can't stand it, cannot bear it

One last tiiimmmeeee

One last tiiimmeee

He cries out, and cries out, and cries out,

'She's not miiinnneee!'

And takes the plunge…

One last tiii-ii-iime,

One last tii-ii-iime,

One…last…tiiiiimmmmeeee…"

Slowly, the last notes of the young singer's song faded into silence, and then into deafening applause. Whistles and cheers and earsplitting screams of "We love you Shoooo!" filled the stadium.

Grinning triumphantly, Fuwa Sho, bowed and exited off the stage, satisfied at the first live performance of his new single, 'One Last Time'. Rubbing his hand through his blond hair, he winked at his manager, Shoko. "How'd I do?" he asked her, obviously expecting praise.

Naturally, he got it. "Brilliantly, Sho! You did a fantastic job!" Shoko exclaimed, giving him a large, flashy grin of her pearly whites.

Sho liked the compliment, but it wasn't what he wanted. Inside his mind, he pictured Kyoko, the normal Kyoko before she went all 'orange-hair-and-showbiz-for-revenge', saying, "Sho is the best! This single will be number one for sure! Everyone loved it, Sho, you were so incredibly amazing that everyone was stunned and awed! Go Sho!"

Shoko arched an eyebrow as her charge slammed his palm into his forehead and began to rub hard, and then pound his skull, as if he was trying to knock something out of it. _He must be thinking of Kyoko,_ she thought, a slightly amused grin on her lips. She sincerely hoped that the two of them could make up and get together again. Kyoko was such a good influence on Sho.

Suddenly stopping his head-pounding, Sho stood up straight and marched to his make-up room, where he promptly plopped into a large, comfy chair. He was lounging and thinking of his success as Shoko entered the room. "Sho, what do you think about signing autographs?" she asked.

"Hmmm…" He pursed his lips and thought about it. "Well, a celeb's gotta do what a celeb's gotta do." Pointing to himself, he added, "I can't help it if the girls love me. Better go fill their hearts with hope, love, and me." Saluting, Sho slid out of his chair and left the room, striding off down the hallway with a pen in his hand.

Shaking her head, Shoko watched him go, unsure whether to be happy he was signing autographs or worried for all the girls' hearts outside the stage door.

Glancing at her watch, she remembered that they had another concert in a few hours. It was strange, to have a concert as big as this in the middle of the day, but it was a weekend, and all the other times for the stadium were full up, despite Sho's obvious influence. So they'd had to take the noon time, but it obviously turned out pretty well.

Shoko began to walk down the halls to find and catch up with her young charge.

…

Kotonami Kanae crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at her young co-star, Uesugi Hio. He in turn glared daggers at a young girl about eight or nine, with blonde hair in large, poofy, pigtails (more like rabbittails). The young girl glared daggers at an older man, the producer, who was standing off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, and glaring daggers at Kanae.

As you can see, this was an unusually complicated situation.

Ahem. Let me explain. Kanae was mad at Hio for misbehaving while she was supposed to be watching him. The misbehavior? He had stuck a spider in the young girl's hair. No, I am unaware as to how he came by the spider. He's a boy. Maybe they carry a live cache around with them all the time, for cases such as these?

Anyways, Hio was mad at the young girl, if you couldn't tell (would you stick a live wolf spider in the hair of your best friend?). The reason being that she attempted to kiss him. Apparently she liked him. Hio did _not _like her in the least. Hence the spider. But she still loved him, for some absurd reason, after the arachnid had been put in her hair.

Kyoko is a very smart girl for avoiding the feelings of love.

Now, the young girl, whose name was Minamoto Mika, was glaring daggers at the producer because he assigned Kanae, or the 'Shedevil', to watch over Hio while his manager was sick. Mika did not like this one bit. In fact, she specifically said, "Mika doesn't like this one bit." …Yes, the third-person thing. Please don't ask me why cute girls obsessed with themselves have the tendency to refer to themselves in the third-person. It's weird. Maybe they like hearing their own names a lot? Who knows. Well, I guess she knows, but that's not the point. Anyways, Mika was mad at the producer for assigning the Shedevil to be Hio's temporary manager. Why? Hio, for some bizarre, out-of-this-world reason, liked the Shedevil, and not Mika, the girl who referred to herself in the third-person.

Hmmm…tough choice. And the producer was mad at Kanae because she was supposed to have been watching Hio, and should never have allowed him to put a spider in Mika's hair.

At this moment, as they were filming at the LME building for an office scene, Sawara-san picked the absolute wrong time to walk into the room. The rest of the filming crew and cast had long since busied themselves with other work, but unluckily for Sawara, he walked right into the glare square.

Bad move. As one, every member of the glare square turned their glares on Sawara. "What do you want?" each one of them barked at the same time.

Shaking in fear, Sawara quickly walked over to Kanae and handed her a pink envelope. "It's a letter from the President regarding your new assignment," he said, adding hastily, "I'm just the messenger, please remember that." To escape from Kanae's glare, he scooted over to Mika and handed her a white envelope. "From your father," he said, then quickly left the room, wondering who on Earth the Shedevil was that Mika was cursing so fervently under breath.

"Kotonami!" the producer yelled, ordering her come to over to him with the twist of his finger. Reluctantly, Kanae obeyed, shooting a murderous glance at Hio.

Mika smiled. The Shedevil was away from her Prince. Now she could make her move. Waltzing over, Mika did a little curtsy. "Mika is happy to see you," she said, batting her eyelashes prettily.

Hio took a step backward, his face cross. Muttering under his breath, he said, "Hio wishes you would go die in a hole and get out of my life."

"What was that?" Mika asked, not having heard the comment because it was too quiet. "Mika couldn't hear you."

"I _said_, you look lovely today," Hio stated, flashing a grin.

Mika blushed a light shade of pink. "Th-thank you," she stuttered. "Mika likes how you look today too."

Hio bowed. "My thanks, fair lady." To further cement the effect, he grabbed Mika's hand and placed a kiss on her ring finger, turning her entire face red.

Jerking her hand out of his grasp, she stared at him wide-eyed, hearts in her eyes. Hio grinned evilly. "Mika?" he asked.

"Yes Prince-sama?" she responded. Hio blinked. Did she seriously refer to him as Prince-sama?

ANYWAYS. "I was thinking," Hio said smoothly, "that because you look so beautiful today, you should go around and show everyone in the cast and crew, and then everyone in the rest of the building. Can you do that for me?" He gave her a completely fake pleading look.

Nodding, Mika stumbled away, still drunk on the stupor of love.

A snort to Hio's left alerted him that Kanae had arrived back. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," Kanae replied. "I have to admit, that was nicely handled."

"Heh, thanks," Hio grunted, keeping one eye on Mika as she roamed the room. "So, what'd the producer say?"

"He said that if you ever put a spider in someone's hair again, we will both be skinned and laid out to dry. Got that?" Kanae glared at Hio threateningly.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Hio muttered, glancing at the floor. Looking up, he pointed at the pink envelope in Kanae's hand. "What's that say?"

"I don't know," Kanae said, opening the envelope. "But I bet I can guess." Taking out the letter, she scanned the contents of the page, nodding and groaning. "Yep, I was right." Folding it up, she stuck the letter in her pocket.

"What did it say?" Hio asked eagerly.

Kanae began to walk towards her position for the next scene to be filmed. "That's mine and the President's business. Got that?"  
Pouting, Hio muttered, "Fine," then stood by and watched as the make-up crew surrounded Kanae to prepare her for the scene. His eyes took on a lost look as he stared at the girl he loved.

"AAARRRGGHH!" he screamed as Mika came out of nowhere and tackled him to the floor, attempting to kiss him. Shoving her off, Hio scrambled away from her. "Keep that fiend away from me!" he yelled, and began to run across the room.

Mika ran devotedly after him. "But Mika loves you, Hio!"

Kanae rolled her eyes, uttering a short, "Mo." If this was some sort of payback for the spider, that girl was smarter than she looked. If not…well, Kanae's expectations hadn't been that high in the first place.

…

"Are you ready to order, Mogami-san?" Ren asked, setting his menu down.

Kyoko nodded. "Of course I am!" she replied, then stared at Ren. "Are _you_?"

"Of course," Ren replied nonchalantly.

"What is it, then?" Kyoko asked, a hard glint in her eyes.

"Miso soup," Ren answered. He froze as Kyoko shot him a dirty look. "And, uh…" He quickly grabbed the menu. "The hamburger steak, like you're having." He gave her his best 'Gentlemanly Smile'.

"Oo, the anger, I feel it!" a Grudge Kyoko squealed in happiness from Kyoko's radar, flying around. "But wait." It stopped. "No…the anger is gone…darn it…it was just a lying cover-up smile…" Wailing, the Grudge Kyoko retreated back into Kyoko's brain, and the girl stopped cowering when she realized he wasn't actually angry.

The waiter came by and took their orders, gaping slightly at Ren and shaking her head as if she was trying to shake out the crazy thought that Ren might be in a restaurant she worked in.

"So, Mogami-san, how do you feel about the next few scenes in Dark Moon?" Ren asked, studying his kouhai intently.

Kyoko smiled and a few stars appeared in her eyes. _Uh-oh_, Ren thought. "Well, I've got them all memorized by heart, but I'm really happy, because Mio is finally starting to turn around." Sinking to the floor and clutching her hands together to stare at the ceiling, Kyoko cried out, tears pouring down her cheeks, "Mio is finally learning to break free of the wicked spell called Hate cast upon her, and soon she will go back to being a beautiful princess, free of the curse forever!" Imagining the scenario, Kyoko's eyes became giant stars, and she vacated her body, her soul leaving to go visit La-La Land.

"Hello Princess Mio!" Kyoko called to the black-haired girl, high up in her castle.

"Greetings, Fairy Kyoko!" Grinning, Kyoko flapped her fairy wings and pushed off the fluffy clouds beneath her feet to float in front of Princess Mio. "How are you today?"

"I'm greeeeaaatttt!" Kyoko exclaimed, twirling in the air, her green, purple, and blue fairy wings trailing behind her.

As the two continued their conversation, back in the real world, Ren stared at Kyoko's unmoving body. The waiter came by with their food and stared at the statue of Kyoko. "Uh, just leave the food on the table," Ren said, still staring at Kyoko.

Finally, he worked up the courage to tap her on the shoulder. "Wah!" she exclaimed, bursting back to life. Noticing the hamburger steak at her seat, her eyes grew wide and round, and she launched herself at the plate. "Mmmmm…" she murmured, lost in the savory flavor of the hamburger steak.

Covering his mouth with his hand, Ren leaned over to the side, trying to keep Kyoko from seeing him struggling not to burst out laughing. He shivered as he felt something cold directed at him, and turned to see Kyoko giving him a very frosty glare. "What's so funny?" she asked, her voice deep and threatening.

"It's nothing," Ren said, then sputtered a bit.

"Muh." Kyoko's eyes were hard as she stared at Ren. "Tsuruga-san. What's so funny?"

"Phfwah!" Ren covered his mouth, desperate not to let another chuckle slip. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten, then opened them and looked at Kyoko. "I'm sorry, I was just amused by how much you love your hamburger steak."

"It's good," Kyoko said, pouting. "Why would Tsuruga-san make fun of me for that?"

Ren quickly waved his hands in front of him in a swift denial. "I'm not making fun of you," he said. "I'm just…" He paused, to think of what to say.

"Making fun of me," Kyoko completed his sentence.

"No, no, that's not it at all. I'm just…I found your expression of love for the burger funny, that's all."  
"You don't like me expression of love?" Kyoko accused him.

Ren's eyes widened. "No, no, Mogami-san, no! I like it very much!" _I just wish you would show it to me…although maybe not quite the same one as for the hamburger…_

"Then why were you laughing?"

"I was remembering the time we came here when you were working as my temporary manager, that's all."

"Oh, okay!" Kyoko said, then smiled happily, and continued digging into her hamburger steak.

_She always did bounce back fast,_ Ren thought as he watched her, then took a bite of his own hamburger steak.

If Yashiro were here right now, Ren would probably be severely scolded for not making a move on Kyoko. Not that she'd ever notice.

They continued their meal peacefully, chatting animatedly and talking when Kyoko's Grudge Kyokos perked up at the mention of a certain name. Kyoko froze.

"So I just came back from Sho's concert, and it was _sooo_ amazing! His new single, "One Last Time", was so brilliant! I loved it! I'm going to buy two copies of his next CD when it comes out!"

"What? No fair! You got to see Fuwacchi sing live! I'm so jealous!"

"It was amazing…" The girl left the sentence hanging and stared off into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes.

Kyoko slowly turned around to glare at the two girls sitting at the table behind her. They continued talking of Sho, eyes glazed. They were completely enamored of him.

Suddenly, the first girl, who'd been to the concert, froze in fright. "What is that?" she whispered, staring. Curious, the second girl turned around, and shrieked. "Let's get out of here before it kills us!" she yelled, and the two of them raced out of the Kinshouki restaurant. A confused waiter watched them go, then traced back their line of vision only to faint in fright.

Kyoko was in full demon mode, her teeth fangs, her hair blowing in a nonexistent wind, her eyes golden and narrow like a predator's, and exuding such a dark, black aura that required a hundred Grudge Kyokos in full force to make.

"Mogami-san…you're scaring the other customers…" Ren pointed out.

_Fwip!_ Kyoko turned around and put on an innocent, 'Cutie Honey' look. "Who, me?"

Ren facepalmed.

…

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! WAAAHAAAA! GET IT OOOOFFFFF!"

Kanae's eyes narrowed. "Mo," she muttered, glaring at Hio. He was standing next to her with a satisfied smirk on his face. Glancing towards the door, her face lit up as she spotted Hio's manager. Grabbing him, she thrust him roughly at the unlucky woman. "He's all yours now," she said, and stalked out of the filming room to go meet with the President as she'd been instructed in her letter.

Hio's poor manager watched wide-eyed as Mika ran around the room screaming and crying, half her hair dripping green paint. She gazed down at her young charge, awed, amazed, and somewhat frightened.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAA!" Mika ran around screeching her head off, with several of the crew chasing her to attempt to calm her down. Hio snickered to himself, a satisfied smirk on his face.

…

"Mo," Kanae muttered, staring quizzically at the President's choice of dress for today. He was dressed with a black fur cap on, a large brown fur coat, and big fuzzy brown boots. "Please tell me that's all faux."

Takarada Lory pouted. "You caught me. I wanted real, but then I thought about a bunch of sad little puppies with no fur and I started to cry. So I got faux."

Kanae blinked, then shook her head to get the disturbing image of skinless puppies out of her mind. "Anyways, I got the letter. What's the deal? It's only been a day. Give Ren a chance."

Lory sat on his desk and rapped his fingers across its tarnished surface. "I was expecting more of a fight."

Kanae said, "In what? And why?"

"You agreed so readily to help Ren-san. I'm curious to know you're reasons why. Well, you did look murderous at first, but you agreed in the end, and it didn't take the many hours I'd set aside."

Ignoring the president's unintentional insult to her temper, Kanae thought for a moment, then spoke, "I guess it's the same reason I gave Tsuruga-san after that meeting. The thing is, Kyoko really likes to be around him. I know she says she just 'respects' him, but I feel beneath her…worship? There is a deeper feeling, and I think Kyoko would be a lot better off if she were to come to terms with that, and Tsuruga-san is a better recipient of her crazy tackle-hugs than I am."

Lory pondered this. "It hurts you, doesn't it?" Kanae gave him a strange look. "You're scared?"

She snorted. "Of what?"

"Losing her to him."

Kanae froze, then sighed, giving the president a rueful look. "You're really good at reading people, you know that?"

He gave her a wry smile. "I like to think so. But don't worry. Kyoko's not the type to abandon her friends. Or anything, for that matter. It's incredibly selfless of you to work for her happiness over yours."

Kanae looked away and pursed her lips, her cheeks reddening slightly. "What are you talking about? I just want her out of my hair for a little bit. Plus, Tsuruga-san is probably the only man I would ever trust near her."

Lory smiled softly. "Go on back to work." As she walked out, he called, "Don't worry about rushing things, though. This particular LoveMe assignment doesn't have a due date."

…

As Kyoko twirled around the parking lot in another fantasy induced by Ren making the mistake of mentioning Mio turning good to change the subject, the man at fault placed his fist to his mouth and stifled laughter at her childish glee. Her strange hobbies might make some men turn away, or even back off in fear, Ren found it innocent and cute.

Flapping a hand at the grounded fairy girl, his mouth turned upwards as she skipped over to his side and got into his car readily.

Sure, Ren hadn't managed to make any major progress at _this_ lunch. But there was always next time. And in the meantime, he'd gotten a chance to spend a full hour with the girl that sent his own heart fluttering like a fairy's wings.

Across town, a devil smirked fiendishly as he plotted warped plans involving a certain orange-haired princess. He just had to get around her knight.

…

Strange. No Hikaru in this chapter. No Dark Moon cut scenes. Nothing mentioned about Kouen. I feel like absolutely nothing got done in this chapter, besides the introduction of Sho, and hints at another character who's out to ruin everything to ease his twisted mind (pretty obvious to guess, but I figure I won't say it. You're all thinking it anyway.) Plus, there wasn't enough Kyoko.

Eh. Sorry if I disappointed you all. Over-practicing on my instrument has fried my brain.

Review time!

ViperineVampire: Haha, you and me both. I sat down and thought about the story…and decided, hey, I'll just keep doing my 'go with the flow' thing, and let the story write itself. Sad, isn't it? Anyways, Sho did appear, albeit briefly, in this chapter. And Reino will show up in the course of the story. ;D

Kaiyira: Awww, thanks! Well, here's what happens next, though it's not much. More to happen next week.;D

Runadaemon: Glad you enjoyed the scene with Hikaru! I'm glad the scene with Moko was believable, but you make a fair point. I justified it a bit more in this chapter, but throughout the story, you'll probably see some conflict inside Moko on her decision, and I doubt she'll remain so…not really complacent, but, you know…agreeable? Anyways, thanks for pointing that out to me. ;D

JuzSomeone: Thanks! And, haha, I actually have an insanely fun time writing the Dark Moon cut scenes, even if I didn't do one this chapter. I don't know why, but I like exploring the plot of the drama as much as the manga. Glad you like them!

SweetSarah8: Agh! So sorry Hikaru didn't appear this chapter! For some reason, I just sorta forgot him…poor Hikaru! I torture him then forget about him! *cries* Anyways, I'm sure he'll appear next chapter. I just wasn't sure where I could put him in this chapter, because he wouldn't have been able to interact with Kyoko (as much as it is to have him barge on 'dates', he's had enough embarrassment for the moment.) ;P

Shiroyuki76: Thanks again for the name tips! You're really helping me, that's for sure. Ah, the embarrassment of having Maria call Kyoko 'big brother'. *buries head in hands* I got it fixed quickly, though, thanks to you. ;) Anyways, I'm glad you liked Hikaru's reaction.

Emf6: Thanks! I'm glad you like Hikaru, and the story!

…Going through these reviews, I realize that I _really_ should have put Hikaru in this chapter. Everyone loves him! But what's not to love? Hikaru really is such a sweet guy. But I'm afraid it can only be KyokoxRen. I almost want to pair Hikaru with someone else, but I feel like it just wouldn't work. I would hate to pair him with an OC, and I can't think of any good (let alone available) characters…about the only one that would work is Chiori…O_o Anyways, expect a lot of Hikaru in the next chapter.;D

As always, reviews, comments, revisions, helpful advice, as well as things you might like to see in the story, and all are welcome! Thanks for reading, and see you all in chapter four!


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hey all! I'm really sorry, but I'm discontinuing this story. Without a plot, I had a hard time writing it, and it wasn't really going anywhere. I wish I had an actual, good reason, but I don't, other than that I've lost interest/forgotten about it.

Thank you so much to all those who read, reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted.

Maybe someday I'll pick this up again, but it's doubtful. Anyways, don't expect any more updates.

A thousand apologies,

Fox Scarlen


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